Gladys Knight
Toronto Daily Star, September 11 1934
The SS Morro Castle caught fire on the morning of September 8 1934. Many of its passengers were soon forced into making an unpleasant choice: either leap into the ocean or burn to death. Out of 549 passengers and crew, 135 were lost. The wreck of the ship was close enough to Asbury Park, New Jersey, that beachgoers could wade out to it; it became a destination for sightseeing trips.
Ms. Knight's accomplishment, described in the caption above, was impressive, to say the least: it would have been hard enough to swim eight miles to shore even without a seven-year-old boy on your back. Searching for information on her on the Internet turned up nothing, which is not surprising given that she had the same name as a famous singer. The swimmer and the singer were 27 years apart in age; it's possible, but unlikely, that one went to see the other perform.
Created September 30, 2025.